American Handgunner Jan/Feb 2014 Digital Edition

gun rights alan korwin is it controversial to know our gun laws? “ don’t need no stinkin’ gun laws. You come into my house … yer dead meat.” When the situation demands it, too many gun owners are prepared to use deadly force to defend their families and their homes — and consequences be damned. And damn it, they’ll be damned for ignorantly doing so. But this begs the question, what about the reverse? Is there something wrong with knowing exactly when you can legitimately drop the hammer on some bad guy, fill ‘em full of lead and walk off scot-free? Should you study the gun laws, and the self-defense laws enough so you’re pretty clear on just when you can draw on someone, fire away and expect to be justified in taking a human life? It sure sounds like a plan. But to the leftists — and some prosecutors — knowing your rights for dead certain almost sounds like premeditation. To them, it sounds like you’re planning to go hunt down some criminal, make sure the setup is good, stand your ground, wait for the right moment and — kablang! — Add a notch to your sidearm. So, just how controversial is it to know the gun laws? i get a clue BROWNING.COM 70 To our antirights countrymen, knowing how to buy machine guns, a 50-caliber with a tripod and scope or just a plain old .223 with normal 30-round magazines is “controversial.” They would much rather you didn’t know. The less knowledge you have about your rights, the happier they are, because if you knew all your rights you might demand them. I say do what you can to make those people miserable. The more you know, the better you can exercise your rights and the safer Continued on page 92 WWW.AMERICANHANDGUNNER.COM • JANUARY/FEBRUARY2014 knowledge is Power First off, most of you reading this haven’t got a clue what the gun laws are — at least not accurately. You’re shooting craps with your freedom. You have some vague ideas, heard some scuttlebutt, remember something some cop told you once at a dinner party you didn’t want to be at, but you’re loaded for bear — and you’re likely bearing arms on a wing and a prayer. “Be sure you drag him inside.” How many of you have heard this awful piece of advice? So, if you shoot him outside your local convenience store, you have to drag him all the way back home? It’s obviously idiotic. “If you shoot him, you better cap him off and make sure he’s dead.” Is there worse advice? After the threat is over and the perp is down, so is your right to shoot. Any additional shot is more dangerous to you — legally speaking — than to the bad guy, living or dead. Old King George used to post laws for the Colonists so high on a wall they couldn’t read them. Then, he could easily charge people with violations they knew nothing about and lock them up at will. It’s kind of why we rebelled and started America. Today, our own government writes such complicated laws even if you want to know what they are it’s nearly impossible to understand them. And suddenly, you’re at risk as if it were Colonial days. This isn’t good.